How to prepare nettle fertilizer for cucumbers: how and when to apply

Vegetable growing » Cucumbers

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Kira Stoletova

Feeding cucumbers with nettles is a special fertilization method. Such feeding will give every gardener the opportunity to have a stable, profitable, rich harvest. Of course, you can use various mineral fertilizers and other substances that have a good effect on the plant, but this is not always environmentally friendly and not always cheap.

Nettle infusion for feeding cucumbers

A big plus in using this weed plant as a fertilizer is the support of the natural balance in the soil, because everything that this weed took for its own purposes will return back to the soil and give the necessary elements to new plants.

Properties beneficial for cucumbers

Nettle is traditionally considered a noxious weed. It colonizes vacant lots, areas near fences and buildings, and fills paths and lawns. Nettle is a “pioneer” of neglected wastelands and burnt areas. It grows especially vigorously in fertile soils.

Competent gardeners consider the tenacious weed an excellent fertilizer for cucumbers and successfully use the best qualities of nettle to increase the yield of the crunchy vegetable.

Types of nettles suitable for preparing top dressing

In our country, only a few species are more common, all of them are suitable for fertilizing cucumbers.

Stinging nettle stands out for its “dimensions”. It forms powerful clumps, spreads by creeping rhizomes, grows up to 1.5–2 m. The leaves and inflorescences are large, on long petioles. It surpasses many vegetable and berry crops in the content of vitamins C, K, A, and is rich in potassium, calcium and other microelements, essential oils and organic acids.

Stinging nettle is inferior in size to stinging nettle; it is lower and strewn with smaller leaves, but is considered more stinging. No less rich in useful elements and nutritional properties.

Hemp nettle is less common and is a more fibrous variety. If it is inferior to the first two in terms of medicinal and “calorie” qualities, it is not by much.

Do you want a rich harvest of cucumbers? Then we just do this

It is difficult for us to imagine our dacha without vegetables. After all, the main goal of our summer cottages is to obtain rich, environmentally friendly harvests. Today we have on the agenda the cultivation of cucumbers.

Having grown the seedlings, we send them to the beds.

What needs to be done to get a rich harvest?

Using the principle of a warm bed is well suited to achieve this goal. And the filler in it should be... nettle.

What are the benefits of nettle for cucumbers?

Nettle contains:

• 34% potassium,
• 37% calcium,
• organic acids, the main of which is formic acid,
• a significant amount of nitrogen, manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, other macro and microelements, organic acids and essential oils,
• vitamins of group B, as well as K, C, A, E.

The former weed generously shares all the useful elements with cucumbers:

• cucumber vines grow quickly;
• the plants are strong, healthy, and take root well when transplanted;
• flowering and fruiting of cucumbers accelerates;
• The yield increases, the quality and taste of greens improves.

Thanks to a set of vitamins and important elements, cucumbers gain the ability to quickly get rid of toxins. Potassium imparts resistance to diseases, vitamins increase the taste properties of cucumbers. Macro and microelements increase the immunity of cucumbers and adaptability to adverse conditions, stimulate metabolism, and improve resistance to microorganisms and insect pests.

Healing properties of nettle

Due to its rich chemical composition, nettle is used in folk medicine to treat many diseases. It belongs to very valuable multivitamin medicinal plants with the most extensive beneficial properties for humans.

Nettle contains large amounts of potassium and magnesium, carotene, vitamins B2, K and C, sulfur, iron salts, tannins and protein compounds, pantothenic and formic acids...

Infusions, decoctions, ointments and juice from nettle have a choleretic and anti-inflammatory effect, help strengthen the immune system and improve metabolism, relieve muscle pain and severe cough, soothe gastritis and gout, get rid of excess fluid in the body, normalize lipid metabolism, reduce appetite, enhance lactation. For each of these cases there is a recipe - just do not forget to coordinate its use with representatives of official medicine.

Contraindications to the use of nettle preparations may include pregnancy, kidney and heart failure, thrombophlebitis, problems with blood clotting, atherosclerosis, and some gynecological diseases. If you have these ailments, nettle may cause harm - be sure to consult your doctor before self-medicating.

The advantage of organic fertilizer

The quality of modern mineral fertilizers, when used regularly, does not allow us to say that they are inferior to organic fertilizers. However, many vegetable growers prefer natural nutrients. Nettle as a fertilizer for cucumbers is an excellent and very effective alternative to mineral preparations:

• absolutely harmless to cucumbers, plants, pollinating insects, soil;
• quickly absorbed;
• gives instant results;
• does not require any financial costs;
• the finished infusion can be stored until next season.

Cucumbers fed with nettles become strong and strong. The leaves take on a rich green color. Juicy, crispy and very tasty cucumbers are poured quickly.

Method for preparing liquid fertilizer

The stems and leaves of any nettle are suitable for preparing fertilizer for cucumbers. Roots cannot be used.

Attention! Nettles for preparation of fertilizing are taken before flowering.

The greens can be chopped, but this is not a necessary condition. Leaves and stems are placed in a container and filled with water. The fertilizer container can be metal, but plastic or enamel is preferable.

It is better to pour hot water, so the fermentation process will begin faster. But regular cold water will do. The green mass must be completely covered with water; for this it is useful to use light pressure.

An important condition is that the container with nettles must be covered with a lid or wrapped in film, and placed in a sunny, well-warmed place. The fertilizer should be mixed two to three times a week (or better yet, daily). The beginning of fermentation is signaled by the appearance of foam and a characteristic unpleasant odor.

On hot sunny days, nettle fertilizer for cucumbers is ready in 7–10 days, on cloudy and cold days – in 14–20 days. You can fertilize cucumbers with this fertilizer at any stage of growth a couple of times a month.

Unused infusion can be stored for as long as desired, even until next summer. For the winter, the container needs to be well covered, and in frosty regions, do not forget to put a stick on the bottom, this will protect the container from cracking.

Nettle infusion recipe

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There are many recipes for preparing an infusion of any type of nettle for cucumbers. The classic version includes leaves and branches of a plant that does not yet contain seeds. It must be collected so much that the prepared container is more than half filled. Pour boiling water, although you can take warm water, close the lid and leave to brew for 2 weeks. The composition must be stirred every day. If you prepare the fertilizer and then put it in the sun, it will ferment much faster.

Adding a small amount of yeast or “Baikal” liquid fertilizer to the mixture will also help speed up the fermentation process. The infusion of fermented nettle smells quite unpleasant. Added medicinal valerian root will help get rid of unwanted aroma.

Attention!

To spray plants, the infusion must be filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20.

If it’s hot outside, then the fertilizer for feeding cucumbers will be ready after a week or 10 days; in cloudy weather, it will take from 2 weeks to 20 days. The fact that the fermentation process has ended can be judged by the dark color and lack of foam. Nettle infusion is allowed to feed cucumbers at any stage of their growth. It is necessary to fertilize 2 times a month. To feed planted plants, the fertilizer should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.

You can also feed growing cucumbers with nettle ash, which is considered a good fertilizer. It contains more than 30 trace elements and compounds, as well as approximately 40% potassium. To prepare dry nutritional supplements, nettles must be dried and burned. It is best to do this in the evening and when there is no wind outside. The ash is collected and fed to the cucumber bushes.

In the Urals and Siberia, vegetable crops are often planted on nettles. This is due to the warm short season. With this planting method, the larvae of all kinds of parasites do not reproduce. When feeding into holes, you need to dig them a little deeper. Place nettles cut into small pieces and mixed with soil there. Then plant cucumbers in them and pour in the infusion. After this, cucumbers growing on nettles will grow better.

Attention!

Gardeners do not recommend watering the crop frequently and abundantly. Otherwise, a lot of nitrogen will accumulate in the soil. As a result, the plant will grow larger, and there will be fewer flowers and ovaries. This is a contraindication.

How to fertilize cucumbers

Nettle infusion is used for root and foliar feeding: cucumbers are watered and sprayed with “nettle tea”.

For root fertilizer, take 1–1.5 liters of infusion per bucket of water. Pour it under the roots of cucumbers at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 m2 of planting. After fertilizing, it is useful to water the soil with plain, clean water.

For spraying, prepare a light and suspended working solution:

• filter the infusion through several layers of gauze to prevent clogging of the atomizer filter;
• dissolve one part of the purified infusion in 20 parts of water.

Spray cucumbers with fertilizer in the evening or on a cloudy day to prevent the leaves from being burned by the sun's rays. During dry, sunny periods, foliar feeding is carried out once every two weeks; on rainy and cloudy days, cucumbers can be sprayed every 7–10 days.

Nettle fertilizer is also excellent for seedlings if cucumbers are grown this way. To spray or water seedlings, use a less saturated solution of green fertilizer. Watering and spraying can be alternated, this way the best effect is achieved.

Nettle in the garden

There are several ways to make homemade organic fertilizers. As already mentioned, it is better to pack the grass in advance in a plastic mesh.

1. Universal composition. A metal non-oxidizing barrel or food-grade plastic container is placed in an unshaded place, filled 3/5 or 4/5 with nettles, and kneaded with a masher. Fill with water 8-10 cm below the edges. To speed up the process, add sugar. To prevent insects from flying in and dust from settling, cover with polyethylene. Stir every 2 days. As soon as fermentation has stopped, the color of the contents of the container has become rich brown, and the smell is sharp, unpleasant “silage”, you can use it.
2. Bread infusion. 3/4 of the container is filled with nettles, 1/4 with breadcrumbs, leftover fresh bread, spent bread kvass or sourdough. Fermentation lasts about a week, stir as in recipe No. 1.
3. With dandelions. (Additional ingredients may include comfrey or plantain. Complex formulations are more effective). To prepare fertilizers, 2/3 of the composition should be nettle, the rest - other herbs. They should first be dried in the sun. Infuse in the usual way for 10 days.

To speed up fermentation, you can add any yeast - 10 g per 10 liters of composition, or wood ash - 1 tbsp. l. for the same amount.

Fertilizer for cucumbers from whole nettles

A regular nettle “blanket” for cucumbers has a prolonged effect. To do this, take the burning leaves and stems, cut them into small pieces (this is more convenient to use), and mulch the cucumber bed.

Gradually decomposing under the influence of moisture, sun, wind and microorganisms, nettle gives cucumbers valuable nutrients. At the same time:

• protects the soil and roots of the crop from drying out;
• prevents the appearance of slugs and other pests;
• improves the structure and mineral composition of the soil.

This fertilizer does not give quick results; its effect is designed for a long period.

Nettle against slugs

These slippery, creeping, unpleasant creatures cause a lot of trouble for gardeners. The juicy fruits that are cucumbers are too tempting for them. If you don't follow, they attack every bush. To prevent this, use the nettle mulching method.

To do this, cut or picked nettles are crushed and laid between the rows, around the stem. This method helps:

• saturate the soil with useful substances;
• preserve life-giving moisture;
• prevent the growth of other weeds;
• repels slugs and many other pests;
• prevents soil overheating;
• maintains soil looseness.

Fertilizer preparation

The best time to harvest nettles for future use is May-June, before flowering begins. Cut off the burning stems with leaves, do not use the roots. For drying, cut into large pieces or tied in bunches. Dry in the shade, in a well-ventilated place, for example, under a canopy or in an attic.

The harvested raw materials are used to prepare fertilizer in the same way as described above. An infusion of dried nettle will help if you need to feed early cucumber seedlings.

Improving the properties of fertilizer

Nettle fertilizer itself is very effective. But you can achieve an even more remarkable result if you add wood ash, nutritional yeast or manure to the infusion.

Other herbs that are considered weeds by gardeners are also suitable - dandelion, thyme, chamomile, biting midge. The main condition is not to use rhizomes and those plants where seeds have already formed. You should also avoid poisonous “ingredients” – bindweed, for example.

How it can help in the fight against diseases and pests

This infusion of nettle for fertilizing can help protect plants from diseases. For example, it can protect tomatoes from late blight. For this you will need: one kilogram of chopped nettle, pour five liters of water. This entire mixture needs to be boiled for fifteen minutes, then wait until the mixture cools down and filter. Next, for spraying, mix one to twenty with water. You need to process the bushes approximately one to three times. This method is not suitable for treating the disease, only for preventive measures.

It can also help rid cucumber bushes of aphids. To do this, you need to take one kilogram of chopped herbs and fill it with a bucket of boiling water. Let it brew for twenty-four hours. Then filter and start spraying those parts that are affected.

Dried nettle can be used to mulch the area around the plant. This will be a good remedy for slugs. You need to pick the herbs, dry them and lay them around the bush. It will also help by retaining moisture. And then it will rot and become fertilizer.

Nettle infusion for feeding plants: video

Fertilizer is a healer

Due to its outstanding properties, the presence of vitamins and microelements, nettle not only supplies cucumbers with nutrients and vitamins.

It strengthens the crop's immunity to diseases such as late blight and powdery mildew. Increases the resistance of cucumbers to pests - aphids, slugs, mites. Improves the ability to adapt to adverse weather conditions.

Nettle infusion is indispensable for treating weak plants. Cucumbers with weak vines, pale or yellow leaves need urgent watering and spraying with liquid fertilizer. Plants quickly respond to such help, gain strength, acquire a healthy appearance, and accelerate their development.

Regular fertilizing with nettles stimulates the active flowering of cucumbers, the massive formation of ovaries, and the friendly ripening of greens.

Preparing beds with nettles

This method of preparing beds for cucumbers is especially common in Siberia and the Urals, where the warm season is short, and cucumbers and other vegetable crops need warmth (especially in warm beds).

The preparation of beds on which cucumbers can be grown in open ground (or in greenhouses) is carried out as follows. First, we prepare the beds themselves - trenches are dug along their length and width, the size of one and a half shovels. The trench is filled to a height of half a bayonet with nettles, and soil mixed with humus, compost or rotted manure is poured onto the nettles. We plant cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage in the beds prepared in this way - almost any vegetables and herbs can be grown in such “warm” beds.